When: Thursday, 17 March 2016 (7:30pm for 8pm)
Where: The Union Club (122 Baylis Street, Wagga)$10 in advance, includes a free drink
$10 at the door (no free drink)*18+ event, no minors

Quick – close your eyes! Picture a young nurse caring for a small child in the middle of a busy hospital. Imagine a librarian helping you to find that one book you so desperately need for a school assignment. Think of a server clearing tables in a café after lunch. See in your mind two police officers directing traffic around an accident, while fire-fighters struggle to free a young family from their twisted car. What images come to mind? How are these people dressed? What gender are the people you see? How old are they? What is the colour of their skin? The images you see are not your own. They are the product of culture, society, history and experience. Prepare to rethink how you see the world.

BIO: Lisa is Professor of Information Studies at Charles Sturt University where her research explores how people use information in hospital emergency rooms, vineyards, schools, and other contexts to make decisions. Originally from Canada, she still marvels at the sounds of cockatoos and the sights of kangaroos around Wagga.

Dreams are easy, execution is hard: the joy and heartache of being an entrepreneurSimone Eyles

Ideas are easy, everyone has them; taking those dreams from the drawing board to the boardroom is the challenge. From idea to implementation, we’ll go through the stages of launching a startup and discuss how to maintain momentum in a rapidly evolving digital space. Simone will reflect on the various issues that entrepreneurs face, from seed funding to internet access (and proliferation), and how blossoming entrepreneurs can overcome such obstacles. Finally we’ll discuss how regional centres are well positioned to make a global impact through disruptive technologies. Let’s start building!

BIO: Simone Eyles is an entreprenerd who uses new technology to solve old problems. Simone began her first start-up in 2011 after a conversation with friend (now business partner) Marz about how fantastic it would be order coffee from your mobile phone. The result was the headline-grabbing 365cups, a genuine startup success story. Simone has since launched various other apps to meet the needs of the hospitality industry as well as her co-working space “Working Spaces HQ.” Simone is passionate about boosting regional Australia through disruptive technology and supporting other start-ups. When she’s not growing her business, Simone gives back to the community through mentoring, speaking engagements and, most recently, becoming a Director on the Country Hope board.

Siri. Make me a sandwich! Siri! Siri?Peter Dickinson

Let’s follow along a hazy recollection of observations and musings on Artificial Intelligence following 18 alcohol fueled years in an industry named least likely to create millionaires: Building Automation and Machine Learning. We’ll take a look at the rocky road of AI’s promises, failures and successes and where it REALLY is as of 2016. The various branches of AI and the broad areas where they are applied—for both good and evil—will be discussed. We will look at how to sort the sci-fi and marketing from reality and hypothesise what cool stuff is potentially coming soon. Importantly, for the non–engineers in the audience, we’ll look at your options for surviving your impending mass unemployment!

BIO: Peter is best known as the 2nd Best Teen Dad, Canberra 1998. Despite growing up in Canberra’s deep south, somehow he managed to complete an engineering degree at ANU only six months late whilst fathering various children, working full time and watching too much TV. He bought and ran his first business for ten years. After selling that company, he quit his first grown up job for being called “too nerdy”. For the last six years he’s been with BuildingIQ as its Chief Technology Officer and first employee. From it’s beginnings as a CSIRO technology to now more than 50 people, BuildingIQ listed on the ASX in late 2015 to the fan fair usually reserved for an Amazon delivery.